


The Morning After

by moodyvalentinestories (moodyvalentine)



Series: ♡ Rachel Fields x Thomas Hunt ♡ [5]
Category: Hollywood U: Rising Star
Genre: F/M, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-11-10 14:29:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20853314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moodyvalentine/pseuds/moodyvalentinestories
Summary: It’s the morning after and things are… great? Awkward? Both? Well, golly gee, I guess you’ll just have to see.





	The Morning After

Rachel woke up in the early morning hours, with someone’s arms wrapped around her. It took her a moment to remember where she was. In whose bed she had slept. With whom.

Suddenly, she was wide awake, as she sat bolt upright in bed. _Shit._

“What are you doing?” Thomas murmured sleepily.

That was an excellent question. What _was_ she doing? What was she _supposed_ to be doing? She didn’t know. She was in way over her head here. _Shit, shit, shit_.

It wasn’t like she was entirely inexperienced – she most certainly was not – but whatever this was, it was new. And that was the issue. Not it being new, but the fact that she wasn’t able to define it. Because up until that point, there had always been a definitive term for what – who – she was doing. A boyfriend, a one-night stand, a friend with benefits. But what _exactly_ was she supposed to call _this_? What was she supposed to call _him_?

She knew he had feelings for her. Deep feelings that, she assumed, were of the romantic nature. He wouldn’t have risked any of this otherwise. But, while they’d known each other for months – nearly a year – now, they had also just gone on their very first date. And yet, they still ended up in bed together. Wasn’t that some kind of taboo? She was almost sure that she’d heard that somewhere.

Before she could finish that train of thought, she felt his strong arms around her waist, his chest against her naked back, and his hot breath on the skin of her neck. “Rachel,” he whispered, his voice still raspy from just having woken up. “Please come back to bed.”

“_Technically_, I still am in bed,” she said, closing her eyes as she leant into his embrace. For the moment, she didn’t need to know what this was. Because whatever it was, it felt good. It felt _right_. And while she recognised that they would have to talk about it eventually, it didn’t have to be right now. Because right now, she was content. She was happy.

So when Thomas growled in her ear and pulled her back onto the mattress with him, she didn’t resist.

_________________

It was Thomas who woke up first a couple of hours later. And while he would have loved to remain in this blissful moment – with her sleeping peacefully in his arms – forever, he knew that he would have to get up eventually. Despite the semester break, he had work to do. He let out a quiet groan when he realised he’d most likely have to answer twice as many emails as on any other day today, since he hadn’t been able to focus on anything but his upcoming date with Rachel the day before. Rachel…

She was still fast asleep in his embrace and he couldn’t keep the smile off his lips. He never wanted to let go of her. _Dear lord, Thomas, you’re in so much trouble._

For a few moments more, he revelled in the feeling of holding her close, before slowly – careful not to disturb her sleep – pulling his arm out from underneath her and climbing out of the bed. Unlike him, he assumed, she probably didn’t have any obligations today. Or at least he hoped she didn’t. Because the last thing he wanted to do was wake her up. He’d been snapped at often enough before – and during – his lectures to know that she was _not_ a morning person. He shuddered at the thought of being the one to wake her. He may have been fond of her, and would have hated if she were to oversleep because of him, but he was also _quite_ fond of being alive.

So he moved around the room as quietly as he could, picking up all the various items of clothing they’d carelessly abandoned on the floor last night before grabbing a fresh ensemble, then walked out into the hall and delicately shut the door behind him. He remained there for another couple of seconds, listening intently. When he was sure she was still sleeping, he made his way to the bathroom, a stupid grin on his face. He felt foolish, a bit like a high schooler that had just touched a breast for the first time, but he felt happier than he had in years.

_________________

When Rachel woke again, it was already noon. And she was alone. For a moment, she wondered if she’d imagined last night, but the bed she lay in was much larger – and decidedly more comfortable – than the beds in the dorms, and as she opened her eyes, she saw the room most certainly wasn’t hers, either. She sighed contentedly before rolling out of bed, looking around to find her clothes.

A small chuckle escaped her lips when she saw them neatly folded on the dresser. Of course he would, the damn neat freak. She was in for another surprise – one she _should_ have been prepared for but had simply forgotten about – when she picked up the now entirely useless scrap of fabric that, up until last night, had been one of her favourite pairs of panties.

She froze when she realised just what that meant. _Oh god, no._ She was going to have to walk home without panties. In her not-particularly-long dress, at that. She just hoped it wouldn’t be a windy day today. Looking out the window, the swaying leaves of the trees outside told her she would have no such luck. Of course she wouldn’t.

After putting on her bra and dress, she tossed the lacy fabric in the trash and made her way out of the bedroom. She wasn’t familiar with the layout of the house – not _yet_, she hoped – so she walked into the living room that she remembered from the week before, hoping to find Thomas there. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

Or maybe it wasn’t all that unfortunate, she mused. It gave her an excuse to snoop around a little. After all, he couldn’t blame her for trying to find him, could he now?

“Just where do you think you’re going?” she heard Thomas ask from behind her as she started to walk towards what she assumed must have been the kitchen. Which happened to be in the same direction as the front door. _Oh._

She turned around, her breath catching in her throat when she saw him. He looked far more casual than she’d ever seen him, wearing jeans and an olive Henley shirt as he leant against the doorframe of the room right across from the bedroom. “Hi,” she managed to get out.

The corners of his lips turned upward slightly, though he tried his best to hide his smile at her reaction to him. Though he himself felt quite similar about seeing her, amazed by how beautiful she looked even with her messy morning hair and none of her make-up from yesterday quite where it belonged on her face. He found himself wondering what his pillowcase must have looked like, but decided that there were more important things demanding his attention at the moment.

“Did you enjoy sleeping in my bed?” he asked amusedly as he took a few steps towards her. He had never seen the inside of a current dorm room, of course, but he knew that his mattress alone must have been far more comfortable than anything the university could afford.

“Very,” she said with a grin, as she started to walk in his direction, too. They met each other halfway and Thomas immediately encircled her waist with his arms. “But not as much as I enjoyed sharing it with you.”

He lifted one of his hands, keeping the other firmly on her waist, to brush a strand of her – probably horrendous-looking, she thought – hair out of her face, his fingers lingering against her cheek. “So if I were to invite you over again next week, you would accept?”

Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest at the mere suggestion. “I don’t know… am I not supposed to ignore you for a couple of days after our first date so you don’t think I’m desperate?”

“I’m not much of a dating expert, but I do believe that is _terrible_ advice,” he replied softly before leaning down to kiss her.

She pulled away. “Don’t. I’m sure my morning breath is disgusting.”

Instead of replying to that ridiculous statement, he shook his head at her and leant in further. As if he’d let something as trivial as morning breath keep him from kissing _her_. Heavens no.

Their lips met in a gentle kiss and Thomas finally let himself fully smile. “I mean it, Rachel. Come over again on Tuesday. I’ll make dinner. We won’t be interrupted here.”

“We weren’t _actually_ interrupted until after dinner,” she joked, unsure how else to react. _Say yes, you idiot!_

“Rachel,” he said firmly.

She sighed and averted her eyes. “I’d love to. I would. But… are you sure that’s what you _want_?”

How could she even ask him that? Of course it was what he wanted! As much as he would have liked to deny it, he was quite aware what she was implying, and he cursed himself for not sticking to his plan the night before. He was certain she wouldn’t have these doubts if he had.

“I thought I made myself clear,” he said, putting his hand under her chin to lift it up and make her look at him again. “I’m not risking my career for a one-night stand, Rachel. Or even a short-lived fling. I’m in this. I’m _all in_.”

She looked up at him with wide eyes, her mouth slightly open, but she was unable to speak. Whatever she had expected to hear, this wasn’t it.

“Say something,” Thomas said quietly after a few seconds of silence had passed. It was a desperate plea, but he needed her to say something. Because that look of shock on her face could have meant anything.

“I… yes. I mean, if you’re sure… I’m—” When she realised she wasn’t going to find the right words any time soon, she simply leant up and brought their lips together again, pouring every emotion she felt into the kiss.

And that was enough for him. As much as he usually liked words, as quite the eloquent man himself, he found he also enjoyed this language. Maybe even more than words. _Definitely _even more than words.

They looked into each other’s eyes for a long moment afterwards, before Rachel rested her head against his chest and he protectively wrapped his arms around her. Neither of them wanted to let go, and they didn’t.

“Thomas?” she hummed after a while, looking up at him.

He knew this tone of hers couldn’t possibly mean anything good, but he figured she was just going to confess that her make-up had ruined his sheets or something the like. “Hmm?”

“You ripped my fancy panties.”

He was taken aback for a moment, then looked down, raising an eyebrow at her. “Your _what_ now?”

“My fa—”

“Please, for the love of all that is good and holy, do not ever repeat that expression or I may just change my mind about you.”

She chuckled at his penchant for being dramatic, but explained nonetheless, “The panties you ripped. That was my good underwear.”

_Ah._ He remembered carelessly discarding them the night before – they had been merely an obstacle, after all – but he did feel a tinge of guilt about not treating her belongings with more respect. “I’ll buy you a new pair.”

“You better,” she said, not thinking he actually would. She didn’t care much, anyway. A pair of panties was a small price to pay for the sheer amount of pleasure he’d given her last night.

He closed his eyes again, absentmindedly stroking her back when he realised. His eyes shot open. “Does that mean you’re not wearing any underwear?”

“I _am_ wearing a bra,” she said, burying her head in his shirt to hide the mischievous grin on her face.

“You _know_ that’s not what I mean.”

“Well,” she said and pulled back a little so she could look up at him, fluttering her eyelashes oh-so-innocently. “Why don’t you find out?”

And, after letting out an inhuman growl and whirling her around to pin her against the wall, he did just that.


End file.
